Rs 20 lakh seized

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Ranchi, March 29: Police recovered Rs 20 lakh and detained three persons carrying the cash in a four-wheeler from Khunti district, which is a part of the Khunti parliamentary constituency that is going to the polls on April 17.

However, it could not be ascertained immediately whether the amount belonged to any political party or it was meant for use in poll campaign.

Acting on a tip-off, the police intercepted a car, which was on its way to Torpa from Ranchi, from Kalimati, around 20km from the Khunti district headquarters around 1.30pm.

However, the three detained persons — Sambhu Nath Karmakar, Haradhan Mahto and Prakash Bharti — claimed themselves to be employees of Ranchi-Khunti Central Co-operative Bank and that the money belonged to the bank.

While Karmakar identified himself as a manager, Mahto claimed he was a guard. Bharti, on the other hand, introduced himself as a cashier.

However, Khunti sub-division officer (SDO) Rai Mahimapat Rai said that they did not have any documents to establish their claims.

“The recovered amount has been kept in the treasury and probe is on to identify its owner. On the basis of their statements, a notice has been issued to the said bank, asking it authorities to submit their reply by tomorrow. The three have been kept in detention,” he said.

The SDO added that even if the money belonged to the bank, it was not expected to transport it without giving prior intimation to the administration.

“It is a violation of the model code of conduct. As per the Election Commission’s directive, any one carrying more than Rs 50,000 cash must inform the district administration about the same,” Rai explained.

The administration is leaving no stone unturned to prevent misuse of money power to influence the elections.